I just discovered this essay by Norman Kelly eviscerating Michael Eric Dyson's dubious critique of Bill Cosby.
Bill Cosby’s outburst could been seen as one of frustration, a collective one: forty years later America and black people still have the poor to deal with. Dyson spends a lot of time criticizing Cosby for what’s been a cottage industry for years: the foibles of the black underclass. But Dyson doesn’t really add anything to the debate; he merely constructs his book around the “text” of Cosby’s speech and adds a series of rejoinders that says more about him than Cosby. What the book tells us about Dyson is that he, like most pseudo-intellectuals of the black cultural criticism school, is a superficial thinker. He actually believes he’s doing important work: responding to a public figure whose major role is still one of being a comedian.
Crunch!
Relying as I do on the Blogosphere for debates and other intellectual table scraps from academia, I am surprised to have just discovered this. I know Spence was going to read Kelly, but I haven't heard any updates recently. What's up with Mr. Kelly?
Cobb, as a black communitarian in name only, Kelly's critique must've given you a nice close shave, as well.
Posted by: cnulan at October 21, 2005 02:53 PMMy black community was, is and always will be the Talented Tenth. I dont' have the existential hangups of watching other black people fail. It's not as if I'm not telling them what works for me. It's the best advice I can give.
Posted by: Cobb at October 21, 2005 04:04 PMTo my benefit, I'm not a college professor. All of my advice is free. I think Dyson is way deeper embedded on the hook than I am.
Posted by: Cobb at October 21, 2005 04:05 PMTouching lightly and not obscurantically on the sub-liminal mechanics of interpersonal communion, I invite you to consider my further expositions on the grand unified theory of blackness. I'm not going to give up on you magne, you're too valuable and I know we would understand one another if I could convince you to drop out of theoretical, hypothetical, and ideological mode for just long enough to re-engage the physical and topological realities of the black communitarian.
People learn more from what you are than from what you teach.
Posted by: cnulan at October 21, 2005 05:21 PMoften times on a Saturday night in October, i like to watch a bit of SEC football and catch a bit of the World Series. last night, my wife and i decided to watch "Fat Albert." it was a tremendously rewarding decision. i believe this movie may be looked at a "more of the same," but the pulse, tenor and narrative of the movie reflect several realities:
1) the traditional mores and values of BLACK folk are important.
2) faking the funk is not productive. being yourself is of tremendous value - because no one can be a better you than you - and someone else will always be a better original than you can replicate. - this is tremendously important for middle school age children transitioning into high school.
3) we have been granted, by our elders, tremendous gifts for navigating and understanding this world - and for being excellent in this world.
4)friends are forever.
Cosby lays out a brilliant story and the final scene is WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. as someone raised by his great grand mother, stories of this type truly resonate with me.
I haven't read Dyson's book, but given Cosby's legacy of creating professional, redeeming, affirming work (regardless of its direct discourse about race) and funding projects - he's a tough target. Even with his commments at the meeting, it's not something I haven't heard a million times - some comedians on Puff's show said the same thing last night - and that DuBois said it 100 years ago is compelling. it can be argued, though, that the poor will always be with us.
check out the movie if you haven't done so - and appreciate you're not in the target demographic because of your age - but it will take you back to the 70's just a bit and that's cool too.
Posted by: Temple3 at October 23, 2005 10:18 AM
that's a damned good article!!
Posted by: Temple3 at October 21, 2005 02:00 PM